


Guard Dog

by NekoAbunai



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Big Sans, F/M, Fantastic Racism, Female Reader, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Language, Let's see how this goes, Magic, Monsterphobia, Mute Frisk, Mute Reader, My First Fanfic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Pacifist Route, Slow Burn, homeless Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-09 04:40:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6890620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoAbunai/pseuds/NekoAbunai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As this is my first fanfiction, I have absolutely no clue on what I should put up here in the Summary as I have no idea what I'm doing, all I know is that I'm doing it.</p><p>Set two years after the barrier falls and monsters are released from the Underground, you find yourself defending monsters with what little you have to defend with. Also, there may or may not be smut later on. I'll change tags if that happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**DUST FOUND IN LOCAL PARK**

 

Early this morning, a monster couple discovered two piles of dust in Ebott City Park. The dust has not been identified nor have the police found any witnesses. Monsters are advised to stay within their neighborhoods and to obey curfew to avoid any confrontations with monster hate gangs.

 

 

A frown fixed itself to your face as you stared at the newspaper, sadness pulling the heartstrings. The paper shook a little from your quivering hands, the picture of the pristine park in black and white a blur. It had been two years since the monsters escaped from under Mt. Ebott and the hate gangs were just building power and the crimes against monsters persisted.

Thankfully, monsters still had basic rights. They were entitled to minimum wage, should they find employment, but they had a separate section of the city to live in. They could move about the city, but were forced to return to their own district at night, not allowed to roam the streets under the cover of night.

A soundless breath slipped from your mouth as you slumped slightly, mind heavy of thoughts of the injustice of it all. Monsters had really done nothing much wrong, yet were treated like diseased animals the moment they exited from under the mountain. Their rights were won by a very determined ambassador, who fought with the most persuasive hand signs. They were able to get monsters all the rights they had now, but were unfortunately unable to prevent the fear and prejudice that humans had against monsters.

You tilted your head back, soaking in the sun that streamed through the canopy of tree leaves. Broken sunlight warmed your face from under the tree, a perfect breeze pulling a relaxed sigh from you. You closed your eyes, smiling a bit from the feeling of peace, despite the conflicts plaguing the city. No matter the struggles they faced, monsters always found time in their days to revel in the joy of the day. You often spotted monsters during your daily watch of the park, especially after some of the more heated debates in the courts concerning property and violence prosecutions against other humans. Their faces told you all about the results of the trials, often you didn’t even glance at the newspapers; despair was an easy emotion to pick up on.

You stretched a bit against the tree, reaching for the sky and letting out a pleased sigh when you felt a pop. Monsters continued receiving torment and prejudice in and out of courtrooms. You grimaced as you thought back to an incident that happened in Ebott City Park a few months back.

 

…

 

“Filthy monster bitch!” Your head jerked up from the daily crossword you were trying to complete. Eyes falling on a man in a ski mask who was currently being chased from a nearby store by what looked to be a blue fish person whose red hair flew behind her like a flag, you had curled back to the shade of your tree, the roots comfortably fitting around you like an old friend’s hug. The man raced through the park, gun high above his head and firing off warning shots, all the while cursing his hatred at the pursuing monster.

Peaceful day clearly shattered, the monsters enjoying the day had swiftly rushed behind objects like trash cans and ducking under benches. A bunny monster yelped and shot from her bench and tried to rush for safety, only to be caught by the human. He placed the gun to her temple, jerking her in front of him. Cruel, beady eyes glared directly at the fish woman who had stopped in her tracks at the sight of the gun to a fellow monster’s head.

Her police officer’s uniform was drenched from what you could see from your position behind her, red hair in a high ponytail, drifting in the wind.

“Put down the gun and step away from her,” she said, voice strained to hold in her obvious rage.

The man sneered, the hole for his mouth not even showing the entirety of his cruel grin. “I don’t think so,” he spat, the bunny flinching at his voice. “You dirty monsters should all go back to hell, with all your supporters. You trash don’t deserve an inch up here, fucken monsters.” He pushed the gun against the monster harder, her cry terrified and eyes shut in fear. “If you move, I’ll dust this little bitch and move onto the next. I’ll probably get an award for cleaning up the trash up here.”

“Unhand her, right now, sir,” the monster repeated, right hand flexing as if grasping something in reflex. Your stomach had clenched in fear, the sight of the bunny shaking like a leaf and the man only grinning wider.

“Back yourself off right now, I’m going to shoot her if you don’t back up right now,” he intoned. The officer backed up immediately. “There we go, that’s nice isn’t it?” he continued in a condescending voice.

“Sir. Unhand. Her.” The monster growled, not even bothering to disguise her voice with any semblance of calm. “You need to back off right now and -- “

“No! You back up!” he yelled at her, tugging the bunny as he screeched at the fish monster. “You back the hell up! All you monsters go back the hell up to the underground!” He pulled the hammer of the gun back, the bunny crying out with tears running down her face. The blue police officer flinched heavily as the man raised his head and spat at her. “Fucken freaks thinking you can live up with us! That’s a sack of bull and you all know it!”

The man pushed the bunny away from him and took aim with his gun. The police officer screamed. The bunny held her arms up in defense. You closed your eyes.

BANG

…

 

The following weeks after that incident had been full of the trial concerning the use of magic in defence. The man, Dennis Callroy, had been robbing a store and gotten caught by a police officer on patrol, who happened to be Undyne, previous Captain of the Royal Guard. He fled and she gave chase on foot to the park. While holding a monster at gun point, Callroy had attempted to shoot said monster. In response, Undyne impaled Callroy with magical spears, killing him instantly.

All the peace talks and insistence that monsters were no threat to society were washed away. Ambassador Frisk tried their hardest to convey to the population that this was not an attack on humans, but was an attempt to protect a fellow monster and conduct justice. There was video feed presented as evidence. Hard solid evidence of Dennis and his theft. Multiple accounts of the threats and the hostage situation from both monsters and humans. Testimonies from coworkers about Undyne not being dangerous unless absolutely necessary. None of the evidence broke the haze over the jury’s eyes. All they saw was Callroy’s body held up with spears and the monster who had summoned them.

Many of the jury had wanted her to be banished underground or put in jail for the rest of her natural life. Others demanded her dead, their views plaguing the papers in racist and fearful remarks. The ambassador worked their hardest to get Undyne off scott-free, along with many other monsters, pleading it to be defense of another creature.

Undyne lost her place in the police force as punishment for defending a helpless monster in distress. The subject of magic was being discussed heavily in the government, the brutal display of force sparking interest in the subject. What had been considered a benign part of the monsters’ existences and as normal as flesh and blood were to humans, was now being thought of as an unstable, powerful weapon. Heavy debates took the government by storm, every week taking a headline of the newspapers, updating the public about the proceedings.

It was incredible to find that Frisk had somehow managed to sway the courts to not place a ban on passive magic. Newspapers begrudgingly relayed this to the population, prejudice coloring every word from the pages. Nevertheless, monsters were overjoyed to be able to continue using magic for what they had been for decades, while human fear only grew alongside their hatred.

Among all the tension at the time, between the Callroy-Undyne trial and the discussions on monster magic, the fact that the bunny that had been shot at came away unharmed was glossed over by many.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my perception of time and time management in general is the worst and I'd like to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. It's here and I'm making strong progress toward the next one!

Darkness greeted you as you opened your eyes, you must have slept through the afternoon. Your right hand came up to rest on your stomach, the familiar feeling of hunger striking through you as your drowsy mind pushed itself to wake. The tree’s roots always left you with a crick in your neck, but it was the closest thing to home you could manage.

The thought of home had you sitting up with a pang of heartache and pain. A rough intake of cold night air cleared up your thoughts a bit so you could rush to other, less painful thoughts. Like where you would get food tonight. A quick glance from your position at the top of the highest hill in the park had given you a target. The newly opened restaurant, New Grillby’s looked promising.

From what little information you could gather from tossed out newspapers, monster food supposedly never spoiled and it brought healing on both emotional and physical injuries. Not that you would have any. You had never gotten into a fight. Well, more accurately, you never fought anyone. Whether or not you were hurt was less important than the well being of any other person. You always made a quick recovery, so it didn’t really matter how much you were beat up. It was this way as it always had been.

Mind set on getting tossed out food, you pulled yourself from the groove in the trunk of the tree, back giving little flares of pain at being still for so long. You trotted down the hill to the sidewalk, looking around for any suspicious figures or anyone in need. You could never deny anyone any help you could lend. It would be unkind of you to do so.

Reaching the bar within minutes, you took a turn towards the dumpster, ignoring the sounds of the patrons having an undoubtedly good time in the warmth indoors. You held nothing against them, you just hadn’t the heart to remind yourself of what you couldn’t have. The delicious smell of burgers and fries led you to the dumpsters better than your eyes could. The heavenly scent making you question who thought that such food should go to waste. With skinny arms, you pried open the trash and searched food.

Moments later you had secured yourself two partially eaten burgers and a small order of fries. It took most of your will to not right there and then eat the delicious smelling food, instead stuffing it into a thrown out bag with a colorful logo. With a gleeful smile, you restrained yourself from skipping back to where your home under the tree was. You peeked out of the side alley, looking for any people who might find your situation suspicious. Luckily, no one was wandering the streets aside from a small, yellow monster playing by itself on a swing set.

It was odd, you thought as you briskly started heading for the other end of the park, trying to look like you belonged. Monsters had a curfew that would be starting in about an hour and the park was almost empty. The monster looked like they were having fun, so you declined to bother them.

Your eyes flicked to a group of men who were slowly wandering about the park. You gave a happy wave, but were ignored. You watched, slowing your walk to the other side of the park as you recognized the movements of the men as hunting. Their attention was focused entirely on the swing set, where the monster child was gleefully figuring out the mechanics of getting higher and higher on every swing.

Your feet stopped carrying you forward as realization hit you like a sack of bricks. The men were wearing black jackets with gray insignias of a pile of dust. Radical racism had only increased after the Undyne incident, thugs carrying guns and knives instead of wooden baseball bats or just themselves when they decided to attack unwary monsters. Instead of aiming to maim or just rough up the monster population, groups such as the Winds of Humanity didn’t dare chance letting a monster use any magic in a fight or be able to go to court against them. If they went with intent to hurt monsters, they were planning on leaving only dust in their wake.

You had seen the icons of gray dust particles being carried away by wind in the newspapers you came across, labelling the people wearing them as proud members of the Winds of Humanity. This gang was notoriously dangerous, some of their more vicious attacks now being inflicted on humans who supported monster rights. They extended the same no mercy policy to those who defended monsters, leaving no witnesses who would tell of their brutality.

They had closed in on their prey just as the recognition of the insignias clicked in your mind. An arm had reached out and grasped the chain of the swings, sending the child sprawling to the ground. The kid lifted their head with an expression of hurt annoyance which then morphed into a face of terror they too recognized the Winds of Humanity members.

The monster was sheilded from your view as the group circled him and a scream eruptted from the center of their circle, shaking you from your frozen state. You broke into a run, your protective instinct swelling in your chest. You heard the begging and pleading from halfway across the park, only serving to fuel your drive to close the distance and get there.

You could see little slivers of yellow and brown from between the heavy legs of the men, writhing as they struck out. A crack and scream rung out just as you neared, heart racing. You let your momentum take you, body slamming one of the men out of your way.

Almost falling to the ground with the man you knocked down, you regained your balance to see the foot of one of the WOH members firmly planted on one of the child’s now broken leg. The monster’s face was red and covered in tear-soaked dirt, pupils tiny in pain and fear. Their eyes were glued to their mangaled leg, mouth parted in surprise and pain.

Without a second thought, you pushed out at the man standing with his foot on the kid, using your shoulder to ram him away. Stumbling back, the man sneered and raised his fists with a sadistic look on his face.

“Well, lookee ‘ere boys,” he said, chipped, yellowed teeth showing. “We got ourselves a little ‘eroine, ain’t that nice? You a monster lover, bitch?” You stood over the trembling monster, not moving an inch, despite the popping of knuckles around you.

Black jackets swarmed around you, flashes of gray as fists connected and knees met your stomach. You gritted your teeth, but let each man get his share of hits in on you. Better you than the fragile creature you had underneath you. Small whimpers of “stop”, “stop hurting her”, and “run, I’ll be fine, just go!” were sounding from the monster, but you did your best to ignore them. You knew another hit full of the rage these men held would leave the child dust in the wind. Never would you allow another soul to get hurt in this park, not on your watch.

As the WOH thugs continued their assault, you kept moving to intercept any attacks aimed at the monster you guarded. You did your best to ignore how long this was going on, you don’t remember when you fell to the ground, just that you did, bloodied nose dripping red onto the brown soil under the swings. You were then subjected to a series of kicks that made you flinch at each kick.

You were crying now, mostly afraid that the WOH members would move onto the kid, but, through bleary eyes, you watched as the monster pulled himself to some nearby bushes with his chin.

_ Good kid, _ you thought, just as you caught a kick to the back of your head.

  
  
  


_ Nudge _

 

_ Nudge _

 

_ Nudge, nudge, _ you woke to darkness, the only lights you could spot were the streetlights lighting up the sidewalk around the park with blinking out lights. Pain all over your body registered, pulling a whine from your curled up form.

You ran through the events from earlier, memories returning to you in little flashes and each kick you recalled in detail. You raised your head as your thoughts ran to the monster kid, and you struggled to pull yourself into a sitting position. Your ribs screamed in pain, but you did your best to ignore it in favor of looking toward the bush you had last seen the child seeking shelter under.

You turned your head, looking face-to-face with the kid you had been protecting. You startled a little, seeing their bruises and a chipped tooth. They tilted their head at you, a worried expression on their face as they searched your face like you searched theirs.

“Hey, are you okay?” they asked, shuffling on one leg closer to you, the other limp behind them. “You look real bad.” You looked down at yourself.

Your arms showed much sign of damage, scuff marks and boot prints decorating the skin in angry red. You quelled the rising fear you felt at the sight of cuts leading up to your hands with an experimental twitch of all fingers and movement of your hands. You could still communicate. A sigh of relief resulted in an angry pain running through your upper back and ribs.  Maybe something was broken, but you wouldn’t know; none of the trials life has put you through had been this drastic before.

After taking stock of yourself, you give the monster a nod, to which they reply with a look of disbelief. Your hands find themselves traveling over the small child, stopping once they find a spot that makes the monster wince. You leave the leg untouched and you sit up and bring your hands together in fists with your thumb sticking out and turn them in opposite directions, left towards you and right towards them. You then point at them.

Their eyes brighten. “Oh, you speak in sign language!” They smile wide, showing a disturbingly high amount of chipped teeth. “My friend uses ASL too!” You repeat your motion. “Oh! Yeah, I’m, uh, I’m fine.” You narrow your eyes at them and stare pointedly at their leg. They looked to the side and shift a little.

You sigh and stand, gritting your teeth in response to your aching ribs. In the dark of night, you can barely see the outline of the food you had managed to get from Grillby’s a ways off. You look down at the monster child and without hesitation make the decision to take them to your tree. The curfew for monsters is most certainly happening now and with WOH members about, you couldn’t take them to wherever their home is.

Leaning down, you take a hold of their torso, careful not to touch any of the places they were wincing at and pull them to their feet, or foot in this situation. They give you a nod in thanks, but move to hop off and you keep your grip.

They look at your arm and back up. “Hey, lady, it might look bad, but I’d better be going off to my family. I’ll be fine.” You give them a look and let go of their chest, only to catch them as they almost fall over. They sheepishly grin at you and you reply with a sigh, hoisting them up and into your arms, staggering a bit at the unfamiliar weight. You turn and start stumbling towards your tree.

The kid winces at the sudden movement of their leg and curl up a bit, tail forming a nervous ‘o’ as they stare up at you. You knew your breath was coming out in little huffs and your ribs were aching, but you couldn’t let the monster hobble over to your meager place. No doubt they’d be ashamed of your living conditions or just demand to go to a hospital. Well, likely not the hospital thing due to monsters constantly being refused by humans, but they’d probably be a little uncomfortable sitting under your tree for a night.

“Um, not to be rude or anything,” the spiny monster said, turning to look in the direction you were walking. “But where are we going?” You gave a small grunt from the back of your throat, jutting your chin in the direction of the tree as your hands were busied supporting the small creature. Their head swiveled to face your tree, taking note of the blanket and the small pile of newspapers next to a well-worn spot between two thick roots jutting from the ground.

You gently laid the monster down to your usual spot, arms shaking a little from the unfamiliar weight as your arms stretched out. They let out a hiss as their leg touched the ground and you offered a sympathetic wince in response.

Remembering the food you had pilfered from the garbage at Grillby’s, you turned around and quickly made your way over to where you had dropped it, whine escaping your throat from the pain in your ribs. You knelt down and grabbed the bag, marvelling at the warmth still in the food.

As you returned you saw the monster shifting and wiggling deeper into your spot, resting their injured leg on a root. They looked up and their face split into a huge grin at your approach and even larger at the food.

“Oh, you brought food!” they exclaimed, sitting up a little. Their face fell a small bit as a thought crossed their mind. You frowned and got on your knees, tilting your head in confusion. They sighed. “Monster food heals minor wounds, but -” they gestured at their leg. “- only lots of rest and time can heal my leg. That or a healer, but, heh, I don’t think you have any in your pockets.”

You pulled your pockets inside out and shrugged at them, getting a small giggle from them. Smiling, you pulled out one of the burgers and held it out to their face. Their face fell into bliss as they bit into it and you watched, amazed as a few bruises slowly started to disappear before your eyes. They finished up on the burger and sat back, smiling a contented smile, still having a chipped tooth, but looking a lot better.

You reached into the bag and selected a burger as the monster child deftly used their tail to pull the fries out and onto their lap. The smell was mouthwateringly good and you decided not to stall any longer and take a bite.

It was difficult to eat, but you managed, blown away by the magnificent taste and the feeling of energy coursing through your system. Everything was perfect; the texture was just right and the juice and grease hitting all the right spots. The warm burger seemed to heat your entire body and you almost let out a moan from the excellent taste. You took much longer to eat your burger, savoring every small bite you took, lost in another world of flavor and perfection.

Returning to the real world, you sighed, wincing at the pain in your ribs, but surprisingly free of pain in most other places. The monster was finishing up on their fries when he suddenly sat up and their tail smacked their forehead.

“Yo! I totally forgot to ask your name!” their eyes were wide in surprise. “I am so sorry! What’s your name!?”

You carefully spelled out your name to the kid and tapped two fingers on top of two fingers on your other hand, asking what their name was.

“My name is Monster Kid!” they brightly said, that huge smile splitting their face. “Everyone calls me MK, though. Thanks for saving me!” You waved it off and bent to get a closer inspection of MK’s leg, ghosting your fingers over the tendons and observing the dinosaur-shaped leg. Feeling a hurt in the center of your chest as they jerked their leg away as you accidentally tapped the spot where a boot imprint could easily be seen, you made a quick ‘I’m sorry motion’.

“No, really,” MK leaned toward you, eyes wide. “If you weren’t there and didn’t help me…” they trailed off sadly. “So, thank you for helping me!” You smiled and gave the monster a nod before getting back to the matter at hand.

Pointing at the leg first, you asked why the monster food didn’t heal it. They gave a noncommital shrug.

“Just doesn’t,” they replied. “I remember mom telling me it had something to do with monster food healing the soul, but not really being able to heal major injuries.” They suddenly gasped, “Yo! My mom! Augh, my parents don’t know where I am!” MK brought their tail to their mouth, chewing the tip of it like one might bite their nails. “I gotta get back to them!”

_ Curfew? _ You signed. They threw their head back in frustration, tail slapping the ground.

“Yeah, the stupid curfew! My parents’ll be worried sick about me.” they bit out. They looked at their broken leg mournfully. “Curfew wouldn’t even let me get home before getting caught, even if my leg weren’t hurt.”

Your chest hurt at the sad expression MK was wearing, hands twitching to do something. You shifted to sit criss-cross in front of the monster’s leg, breathing deeply to gather yourself. The feeling of energy shifting through your bones and collecting in your palms filled you. A gentle breeze blew by as your soul fed you magic.

MK tilted their head, confusion evident on their face.

“Um, y/n? What are you-” they stopped as brown magic swirled around your hands. A small, reassuring smile crawled its way to your lips, briefly glancing at the monster’s stunned face before returning to your task.

Glowing hands found the broken leg, the warm light drawing spiralling around the leg. You felt you energy sap as the MK’s leg straightened and swelling on the leg decreased. You let your magic work, fixing the bone and repairing damage. It had been a while since you had last used it, so the process of healing took a bit longer than the last time you had-

You magic wavered, thoughts tripping over the painful memory. MK didn’t notice, too preoccupied with the sight of magic and the feeling of warmth covering their leg to see your face sober up.

You mentally shook your head, scolding yourself over getting caught up in your past when you should be focusing on helping the poor monster. Pushing those thoughts aside, you added gentle power to your task. In moments, you felt your magic become idle, the healing done.

Retracting your hands and sitting back, you watched with happiness swelling in your heart as MK tested their leg and then jumped to their feet, the largest smile you had seen yet splitting their face.

“WOAH! It’s all fixed!” MK exclaimed excitedly, prancing from foot to foot in youthful energy. Their face whipped up to stare at you. “You didn’t tell me you’re a healer, y/n!”

_ I just met you, _ you signed, grinning in amusement.  _ Plus, you never asked! _

“Well, humans can’t use magic,” they said. “So of course I wouldn’t ask!” They gave a twirl around, still testing their leg. “Awesome! And you didn’t even use green magic!”

Tilting you head you raised your hands to ask about what color had to do with anything, before you were interrupted by MK’s jovial expression as they hopped around. “Oh, man! Thanks for healing my leg! I gotta go home, my parents are waiting!”

You waved your arms to get their attention. MK immediately stopped to turn and look at you. Heaving a great sigh, you restarted your signs.

_ Curfew _ , you reminded them, heart tearing at the sight of their face falling.  _ Just stay here until sunrise. I wouldn’t forgive myself if you got hurt again. _

They sighed, “You’re right. I guess my parents will have to wait.” Sitting down, MK tried to make room for you in your groove, but you shook your head. Sharing a secretive smile and conspiratory wink, you stepped around MK and began to climb your tree. It wasn’t too far to get to a bend in the tree, several thick branches splitting off and leaving a dip in the tree, perfect for seating all your things and you, or two people.

Rummaging around, you procured a blanket, worn and not too soft, but still warm. You tossed it down to MK, earning a loud squawk from below. You giggled a little and peeked over the side, watching as MK adjusted the blanket around them. The wiggled around and looked up once settled, sending a mock glare up as they did.

Vaulting back down the tree, you joined them and shuffled next to them. MK looked you up and down to make sure you were comfortable. Giving them a thumbs up and waiting until they shut their eyes to succumb to sleep, you wiggled your way into a more comfortable seating position. A gentle smile relaxed onto your face as MK dived into the embrace of sleep, tired body slumping into your spot and a gentle snore rising from their form.

You looked out over the park again, eyes searching yet again for any threats, and finding none, you let your head knock against the bark of the tree as you looked up. The dark sky alight with stars stared through the canopy and gave you a sense of peace as your bones slowly began to weigh more and more.

Eyelids starting to close, you took a moment to let out a long sigh, allowing your magic to flow. Focusing on the feeling of happiness from defending and helping MK, green mist formed a faint dome around the two of you. Following the gentle feeling was a burning, fierce desire to continue protecting and to never stop or deviate from this task. Your magic solidified, the barrier strengthening and taking on a brown hue.

Protecting all from harm filled you with  _ kindness. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have the foggiest idea about what to put here. Hope you liked this chapter! See ya next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, lovely, I took this long to update?! Writer's block is a bitch and this chapter is short. That and I don't have a beta reader. Oh well, hopefully this isn't the piece of crap it looked like to me this morning.

A jolt from in your chest tugged you harshly from sleep. You sat up quickly, eyes snapping open as your magic relayed the sensation of a solid tapping. Bright light blinded you momentarily and you brought up a hand to block what you could safely assume to be the morning sun shining in your face.

“Human,” a gruff, feminine voice growled somewhere in front of you. You winced as the feeling of a fist meeting your chest followed. You blinked a few times, regaining your vision and slowly lowered your arm to look up and see-

“Human!” you jumped at the loud voice, eyes falling on a blue monster with fiery red hair and an angry yellow eye with a sliver of a pupil. Her face was twisted in a snarl and her ear fins were splayed out intimidatingly. A brown-gloved fist was resting on your muddy-brown barrier.

Mind catching up as to why Undyne, former captain of the Royal Guard, was yelling and glaring, you hastily lowered the barrier right as she had taken a huge gulp of air.

“HUMAN!!!” she screamed, jolting MK awake and causing them to tighten their tail that had wrapped around you sometime in the night and squeeze you. Doing your best not to 1) imitate a squeaky toy, 2) scream in fright, or 3) reconstruct the barrier to prevent the fish monster from going ballistic on you.

“YO! What the fu-,” MK caught their curse halfway and shut their eyes tight against the light, shrinking back into the bark of the tree. Your hand found your shirt and you gripped the soft clothes tightly, trying to ground yourself and catch your breath.

Undyne glared down at you, straightening up to full height and crossing her arms. Her posture spoke all things dangerous and the dangerous aura pulsing around her clued you into her immense displeasure.

“Would anyone mind telling me why I got a call from a certain someone’s parents asking where they might be?” she snarled, eye locked on you, but directing her voice at the waking Monster Kid. “Someone want to clue me in on why they didn’t obey curfew and stayed out sleeping in a PARK, worrying their parents and not returning home?”

MK finally raised their head. They blinked away the last remaining touches of sleep, clearly seeing who was in front of them. Their eyes widened and they gasped.

“Y/n! Yo! Wake up!” They nudged you, not looking at you, but staring in reverence of the fish monster’s presence. “This is Undyne!” They turned toward you with stars in their eyes. “Undyne! Captain of the Royal Guard! You have no idea how lucky you are to meet her!” You did not find the particular circumstances to be lucky, but you couldn’t really move out of fear to dismiss the monster’s enthusiasm.

Said monster leaned forward, golden eye flicking to Monster Kid. “You, kid, aren’t lucky.” MK shrunk back, guilt hunching their form. “Your parents have been worried sick about you! They’ve been calling me every hour for the past eight hours, asking if you had shown up yet!” Her hands clenched and unclenched in restrained anger. “Have you any idea what could have happened if some racist assholes found you!?” Her rage and voice rose to new heights. “IF WOH FOUND A KID WALKING AROUND AFTER DARK!?”

MK sat up straight, brightening up considerably. “But, Undyne! They did find me!”

The blue monster did a double-take, tirade stopped in its tracks. Her features now drawn in a mixture of confusion, worry, and disbelief. Eye searching for injuries and finding none, she gave a shaky laugh.

“Kid,” a sweat drop slid down her face. “There’s no way. You’d be dust in the wind. Lying and tellin’ stories won’t get you anywhere.”

The yellow monster puffed out their cheeks, standing up and dislodging the blanket. “No, really! Those jerks did find me!” MK trailed off as Undyne’s guffaws grew louder. Watching the monster’s closing expression, a sense of sympathy and protectiveness washed over you and you narrowed your eyes at the laughing monster.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Undyne straightened up. “Kid, even I know not to tango with WOH assholes. You don’t just walk away from something like that.”

MK jabbed their tail in your direction. “She does.” Undyne’s face sobered up as she leveled a stare at you. “She jumped in and helped me. She- she got them to go away! And she healed me!” The monsters both looked at you. You could feel the piercing gaze of the former Captain on your posture and favored side and you did your best to meet her stare.

“This punk, scrawny little dishrag, got WOH members to go away?” she scoffed, curling a lip at your dirtied face and small stature. Your heart clenched a little at that. Her gaze became sharper, the air becoming oppressive and aggressive. “Yeah, right. A human, other than Frisk, helping out monsters? A mage at that?” The scornful way her words twisted around  _ mage _ hit like a physical blow and sat in your stomach like a stone.

“But she did!” MK implored, a whine seeping into their voice. “She didn’t fight back, just like Frisk, and she healed my leg!” The stuck out their leg, but didn’t grab Undyne’s attention. The air just crackled dangerously around her, the sky seemingly darkening a little and electric blue mist forming around one of her hands.

“I have a few questions for you, human,” her voice was like steel as you felt a small tug from your chest. Your eyes were fearfully locked onto Undyne’s and you caught the bouncing form of MK in your peripherals, but held back by the Captain.

“I’ll start with, who are you?” You held back any noises as you fought against the tug in your chest, where the monster’s yellow eye was focused. “What did you do to this monster?” A harder tug pulled you forward as you tried to keep yourself flush against the tree. “And what are your intentions toward monsterkind, mage?” She gave a snarl on her last question and your magic felt like it was being choked and pulled from you.

You closed your eyes and held on, bringing your hands up and spelling out your name. Your magic fought to keep whatever the monster was trying to bring out, in. A more powerful tug made you repeat your name desperately with shaky hands.

“Undyne! Stop!” you heard MK’s voice yell. “You’re hurting her!”

Your magic pulsed wildly as the grip around…  _ something _ in your chest tightened, sending a sob tumbling through your chapped lips.

“If her SOUL would just show, then we could get this over with!”

You felt something give in your chest, but immediately get wrapped in your magic and pull back. You couldn’t give up. Your magic anchored your center and held firm against the raging force.

“She helped me! Y/n got hit instead of me and she healed me!”

“Kid, she’s a mage and mages are the ones who forced us Underground!”

You barely held onto consciousness.

“Y/n isn’t like that!”

The constant buzzing of magic in your body vanished from your fingertips and legs.

“How the hell would you know, you just met her!?”

You couldn’t feel the magic in your arms or stomach.

“Cause she saved me!”

The shouting and arguing faded into the background, muffling as the only feeling you had was the heavy weight of the magic tug-of-war continued. Blackness consumed you and you fell back to painless existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did ya like it, kiddies? Yeah, nah? Well, tell me what you thought down below and I'll read all the comments! It's honestly one of my favorite things to do. Please leave criticism or concerns down there and I'll do my best to make the story better!
> 
> Sorry this chapter was so short, I was going to make it longer, but the other half would have made it super long and make it a pain in the neck to edit and review in one sitting. I should be getting that part out sometime soon if my writer's block and personal issues don't get in the way (oh what am I saying, of course they will! Hah!) I look forward to reading all y'all's lovely comments!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heh, heh, heh. Sooooooooo, I was planning on getting this out like two weeks ago, but that was before I started to suffer from my migraines.
> 
> I'm going to say this now. I did not like how I wrote this chapter. I did prefer the ending to the middle of the chapter, but I did not like the flow of this chapter. I hope you all can enjoy it more than I can.

Light behind your eyelids roused you from your rest, making some part of you want to just cover your eyes and return to unconsciousness, but you found you were too tired to commit. You opted to give a small groan in discomfort and shift very slightly. You buried your face further into the soft material beneath your head.

Why was there something soft beneath your head? Trees don’t get soft. You rubbed your cheek against the material, feeling it give way and sink in response. It took a moment for it to register that you weren’t resting on the ground or on your tree.

Your eyes shot open and you sat up in surprise and slight fear. A very strong sense of regret hit you like a bus as your damaged ribs made themselves known through a shock of pain. You winced and gripped your side, focusing on breathing for the time being and slowly taking stock of yourself and the room you were in.

It looked to be a guest bedroom, with a neutral shade of paint on the walls and a simple dresser and bedside table in it. There were a few pictures on the walls, but not enough to clutter or constrict the room. Green curtains fell over the two large windows, hiding the golden light from you. The door was closed and in the corner of the room you could see two figures with their gazes fixed to you.

Recognizing Undyne, you shifted your focus to the smaller of the two. They were yellow, similar shade to MK, and resembled a dinosaur or lizard. Their scales were slick with sweat and their round glasses were sliding down their face, aided by the perspiration. The white lab coat they wore was laden with various materials in the pockets and they held a clipboard tucked under one of their arms.

The yellow monster quivered slightly, hunching further into their seat on an uncomfortable-looking wooden chair. You withdrew inward slightly, guiltily bowing your head and beating yourself up over making anyone feel uncomfortable. You stayed quiet, waiting for someone to speak up. You nervously rubbed the cloth under your fingers, marveling at the quality of the soft material.

Silence reigned for a few moments, awkwardness piling up as time dragged on. Taking a deep breath, you turned back to look at the two monsters, ears burning under the unwavering and unabashed stares you were receiving. You raised your hands, preparing to sign-

Undyne flew to her feet, fins on the sides of her head flaring out as she summoned a blue weapon to her right hand and had it trained on you. “Don’t even think about it, mage.” She said, her voice low and dangerous. You couldn’t get your hands into your lap or your gaze down to the floor fast enough.

“U-u-undyne!” the yellow monster stuttered out in a high-pitched voice, hands raising in surprise. “Sh-she didn’t even d-do anything!”

“She could be preparing to cast a spell, Alphys,” Undyne growled out. “You can’t seriously be calm about this!”

You heard a weary sigh and glanced up to see the dinosaur-like monster grasp the bridge of their nose with small talons. “Undyne, mages don’t work like that. They don’t use hand gestures, unless it’s anime or D&D.” Undyne held the spear steady. “It’s not anime or D&D, Undyne.” She lowered her spear slowly, narrowing her eye at you as she did. The yellow monster gave another sigh and turned to look at you, mouth stretching into a nervous grin.

“H-hi, I’m Alphys,” they said, hunching over in their chair a little. You gave them a little smile and raised your hands again, trying to ignore the fish monster’s arm raising slightly as you did.

Bringing a hand to your forehead and making the letter “X”, you then brought the “X” to your chin and gave them a questioning look. Alphys’ face conveyed confusion and tilted a little. You repeated the gesture, only to get the same result. You wilted slightly, frown appearing on your face as you realized with sinking hopes that this monster might not have known sign language.

They saw your demeanor shrink and waved their hands to get your attention. “I’m not that w-we-well-versed in s-sign language. M-maybe you could s-spell it out-t?” You nodded enthusiastically and signed out _G-E-N-D-E-R?_

Alphys mouthed out your letters and blinked. “O-oh, my gender?” You nodded with quick, happy nods. “I-I’m female a-and I ident-tify a-as such.” She nodded with finality, a small, genuine grin stretched across her face. “Th-thanks for a-asking. W-what’s your n-name?”

Relaxing a bit, you leaned against the headboard of the bed and signed out your name slowly for the small dinosaur. Alphys seemed to have lost some of her nervousness in the small exchange and quickly pulled out her clipboard to write something on it.

You waited in the silence as Alphys kept scratching away at her clipboard. You realized your surroundings in a new light, more now questioning what you were doing in this unfamiliar bed in someone’s home.

 _I’m sorry_ , you signed. _But why am I here?_

A _creak_ drew your attention to Undyne sitting back down in her chair and leaning forward. She fixed you with an intense stare, yellow glinting dangerously. Alphys’ expression became more closed off and she leaned back. Her eyes dropped down to the clipboard as the tension grew in the room. You nibbled your bottom lip and wrung your hands nervously as Undyne regarded you.

“You are here, _mage,_ ” you flinched at the sharp tone she directed at you “because we have some questions for you. Starting with why the hell you were hanging around Monster Kid -”

 _How are they? Is MK alright?_ your hands flew to ask, interrupting Undyne.

“They’re fine,” she growled. “Now, answer the question. Why were you napping in the park with the kid after dark?”

You sat up in the bed a bit more, steeling yourself against the aggressive tone. _I saw them playing in the park after dark. There were some big men with Winds of Humanity jackets going after them and the men attacked MK an-_

Undyne was on her feet and at your throat in an instant. “DID YOU LET SOME WOH MEMBERS ATTACK A DEFENCELESS MONSTER?!” she roared, fish gripping the collar of your dirtied shirt.

Alphys rushed up to Undyne’s side, tugging at the monster’s black tank top urgently. She was sweating profusely and visibly shaking.

“U-u-und-dyne, p-p-please!” the yellow monster stammered out. “L-l-let her f-f-finish!”

The blue monster dropped you to the bed, still standing and glowering over you. You forced your hands to stop shaking, fear coursing through your veins.

 _They were being ganged up on and I went to try and stop it. I got them to switch targets._ You pointed at your side which was complaining from the rough treatment. Alphys’ eyes followed the gesture, but made no move to inspect and still held onto the bottom of Undyne’s tank top. Undyne’s gaze never left your face. You continued.

 _I got hurt pretty bad and passed out. MK woke me up and I took them to the tree I was sleeping under. They had lots of bruises and a broken leg. I gave them some monster food and healed their leg. I didn’t think it was safe to let them go home alone, so I offered to let them stay with me until morning or until after the curfew was over. They agreed and I made sure nothing bad happened to them while they slept_ You let your hands fall to your side and stared up at the two monsters.

Alphys searched your face for a moment before nodding and sitting down next to you on the bed. She set her clipboard aside and tugged your shirt up on the side where your ribs were presumably broken. You winced and let out a small hiss of air between your teeth at the pain as you reached your arm up so she could inspect the damage.

“O-oh dear,” Alphys fretted over the bruising she saw. You didn’t bother to look, instead staring at Undyne. The fish monster wasn’t giving you any indication she trusted you, but she didn’t look like she was intending to kill you anytime soon.

“So you’re a green mage?” she asked, crossing her arms. You cocked your head in confusion. “You use green magic, so you’re a green mage.”

 _What?_ you signed, confusion clouding your face.

Undyne’s eye narrowed. “Green magic is sheilds and healing. It is paired with kind souls. Don’t you know anything about SOUL colors?” You shook your head, completely lost. What did colors have to do with SOULs?

Alphys lowered your shirt, shifting a little on the bed to look at you. “M-mages, from what we-e know about the-em, can only use magic that is the same c-color a-as their S-SOUL is. For-r example, a p-purple mage, or-r p-p-perseverant m-mage, can-an only use purple m-magic, l-like traps. A-and we c-can t-t-tell-el that it’s pur-purple magic because i-it’s c-colored purple.” She took a shaky breath. “G-got i-it?”

You nod and turn to Undyne, trying to get back to the matter at hand. _Why didn’t you just listen to MK in the park?_ you asked her. _Why bring me here?_ The fish monster’s face grew stony.

“I can’t trust the word of a mage who may or may not have convinced a kid to lie,” she snarled, all the aggression returning. “Especially when I can’t check if you’re lying or not when I can’t bring out your SOUL.” She leaned forward. “What are you trying to hide, ma-”

“Undyne!” Alphys interjected, hopping off the bed and putting her claws on her hips. Undyne straightened, surprised at the tone the reptilian monster was giving. “You can’t force a mage’s SOUL out! Their magic naturally resists it to keep them out of confrontations and resistant to SOUL changes.” She huffed, free of stutters as she chewed out Undyne. “If you had done some research, you would know that mages have to show their SOULs themselves. Trying to force it will hurt the mage and will get you nowhere.”

So that’s why you remembered intense pain in your chest. You rubbed the center of your chest as Undyne’s frills lowered in response to Alphys’ rant. Alphys gave a sigh and sat back onto the bed, picking back up her clipboard, clearing her throat, and turning to you.

“All that being said, it w-w-would be p-p-prudent to get you to show us your SOUL so we can make sure of your story-ry and make a decision o-on what to do wi-ith you.”

 _With me?_ you ask, tiliting your head at her. _What do you mean?_

A bead of sweat slid down the side of Alphys’ face. “W-well, you a-are a m-mage a-and b-because m-mages h-have put us undergrou-und before,” she takes a moment to shakily breathe and still her shaking form. “A-asgore needs to m-make a d-decision on what-at to do with you-ou.”

You paled. Asgore, King of Monsters? He’s going to decide what to do with you? He undoubtedly hates mages for trapping his people underground for hundreds of years, he’s probably going to have you killed. Not like anyone would particularly miss you. Maybe MK, but they’ll forget about you and -

Undyne snaped her fingers in front of you, shocking you out of your spiral of fear and anxiety. Her blue face, screwed up in what looked like a mixture of confusion and worry, was inches from yours.

“Hey, mage,” she says. “We don’t need you to have a fit, just need to see your SOUL. If it’s a good SOUL, the King will probably let you be.” You nod and try calming yourself down. Soothing thoughts.

 _DING DONG_. You jumped at the loud noise ringing through the house, falling back and feeling your heart drop with you. Undyne turns around and trudges out of the room, leaving Alphys to try and calm you. A scaly talon gently weaved through your hair as your eyes were locked onto the doorway. You strain to hear a door open and catch a deep tone that rumbles through the halls with little effort. Undyne’s voice replied and you could hear footsteps approaching.

Huge, ivory horns scraped the top of the doorframe as the King entered the bedroom. A golden mane of hair framed ancient eyes that searched you with equal parts caution and concern. A fanged smile that came off as more fatherly and gentle than intimidating was directed at you. The King’s large frame barely fit through the door while stooping. He wore a Hawaiian shirt, sleeves pulled up to his elbows and revealing white, furry arms complete with golden strands on the tops of the arms. His blue jeans sported tears and dirt and his enormous feet were left bare, probably due to the fact that no shoestore could carry that size.

He stopped a few feet away from you, letting Undyne follow and stand to his right. You squirmed a bit under the gaze of the three monsters, looking down at the bed’s coverings and finding a thread incredibly interesting. The silence dragged on and you made no effort to try to break it.

“Mage,” Asgore’s baritone pushed through the air like a current, smooth and effortlessly. You looked up, feeling incredibly small in his stare. “I am Asgore Dreemurr, what is your name?”

Raising your arms slowly, as not to set off Asgore as you had Undyne, you signed your name. Asgore’s eyebrows raised a little as he watched you sign, but he waited until you put your hands down to speak.

“Y/n? Am I saying it right?” you nodded and he smiled. “Alright, y/n, would you tell me what you were doing in Ebott City Park with a monster that was missing for the night?” You nodded and  told him the exact thing you had told Alphys and Undyne. Asgore nodded after you were done and grabbed one of the seat with a large hand and effortlessly dragged it to him and sat down. Undyne went back to where she was sitting when you woke, leaning back in her chair and fixing you with a stare that was neither kind nor aggressive.

“Is it alright if I ask you a few questions?” you nodded, relaxing a bit at his gentle tone. Alphys readied her clipboard and sat cross legged, facing you.

“Where do you live?” _In the park._

“So you are without a home?” _Yes._

“Why did you step in to help Monster Kid?” _They needed help._

“You could have ignored them, why did you risk yourself?” _I would have to be a sick, sick person to ignore the cries on a child and leave them to die._ Your gaze hardened and you emphatically signed your distaste in ignoring the weak and those in need. You could hear Alphys scratching away at her clipboard, but looked the King in the eye as you signed, telling him with all your being that you could not ignore the helpless.

Asgore kept his eyes on you, searching for something in your fierce eyes and nodding to himself when he found it. He continued.

“Who taught you magic?” _My grandfather._

“Are there any other mages you know of?” Undyne shifted forward in her seat in interest, but dropped her shoulders in disappointment when you shook your head.

“Could you tell us what color SOUL you have?” You nodded. He waited and then gestured for you to continue. You made a ‘b’ with your right hand and brought it to the right side of your face and dragged it down.

Undyne frowned and huffed, “What was that?” You repeated the sign, furrowing your eyebrows a bit at her. “Punk, I know what you signed, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the sign for green.”

 _It’s not green,_ you signed. Undyne stood, placing her hands on her hips and leaning toward you, curling her lip at you. “Nobody likes a liar, punk. There’s only green, yellow, orange, blue, light blue, purple, and white SOUL colors.”

Asgore nodded, “Indeed, child. You can’t just make up a SOUL color. Now, please tell us the truth.” You gave a little huff and repeated the ‘b’ dragged down the side of your face. “Mage, this isn’t a game. Please inform me as to your SOUL color.”

This was infuriating! You knew the color of your SOUL, they didn’t! You felt a bit of anger rise, but it quelled almost instantly with a breath. Just be kind to them. You could be kind to these monsters who kept telling you that you were lying.

 _What color was my magic when you found MK and me in the park?_ you calmly asked Undyne. She gave you a look in response. _Isn’t color of magic correlated to the color of the SOUL?_

“Punk, I’m not going to get off topic. What is your SOUL color?” She ground out, teeth barred aggressively. Asgore himself was starting to look annoyed, distrust beginning to raise his shoulders.

Alphys waved her hands, trying to diffuse the tension. “Y-y/n s-said she healed MK and so did t-they, s-so cle-clearly she’s ha-as a gr-green SOUL!” The yellow monster smiled kindly at you. “R-right?” You shook your head, emphatically, bringing your hand to make your pointer and middle finger press your thumb to sign ‘no’ and then made a ‘g’ and rotated your hand left and right.

“M-maybe wh-when you saw y-your SOUL last, it w-was dar-ark and you thought mistook you-our red SOUL for a d-different c-color?” Alphys offered with a hopeful smile.

Undyne shook her head and made an angry fist. “No, she couldn’t heal MK if she didn’t have a green SOUL.” Her eye fell on you, the amber color like a blazing inferno. “Unless you’re lying about healing them too. Are you lying about anything else, mage?” Blue magic started collecting in her right hand, elongating into a spear that you had seen impale Mr. Callroy in the park.

Asgore raised a hand toward Undyne. “Undyne, we will not be having any of that.” The King looked at you. “Maybe it would be best if you showed us your SOUL, perhaps you were mistaken on it’s color.”

You were near tears, pain echoing in your SOUL and magic feeling heavy at your fingertips and center of your palms. Why didn’t they believe you on the color of your own SOUL? You knew it better than any of these monsters did, they couldn’t just assume what made you, you and dismiss what you had to say. Familiar pain of being ignored grew tight in your chest and one of your hands touched a scar on your neck, fingering the reminder like a trinket, despite it being anything but.

You met Asgore’s eyes with tired eyes. You repeated the color of your SOUL to him, willing with all your might that he would understand that you knew what you told was true.

Next thing you knew, you were being held up high. A blue hand with a handful of your shirt’s collar raised you up to her height. “Stop lying, mage.” She growled in your face.

Alphys was stammering something about you being mistaken and Asgore’s rumbling voice was trying to convey something to the angered blue monster. You didn’t know which hurt more, the pain in your ribs, the pain of being regarded with such hatred, or the pain of having been ignored and been treated as though you didn’t know any better than to mistake your own identity.

You shut your eyes to hide from Undyne’s seething face and to focus on the center of your being. You called to the warm light within, yanking your identity and what made you out for the world to see.

You were dropped to the bed like you were made of hot coals as Undyne stumbled back eye focused on the hovering cartoon heart in front of you. Alphys gasped, clipboard clattering to the ground as your magic fell from the heart in waves. Asgore was stock-still, scarlet eyes locked onto your suspended SOUL.

You smiled gently as your SOUL slowly floated down to your hands. The its colors warmed the room like a hearth, feelings of home wafting around the small bedroom. Understanding that this was the whole of your being and any of these monsters could strike you down if they chose, you felt a flicker of fear and your hands almost covered the cardioid. Seeing the awe in Alphys’ eyes as she observed your SOUL, made you bring your hands back down, feeling just a touch prideful of your SOUL.

Meeting Asgore’s eyes with an amused expression at his jaw being open, you raised your hands to sign.

_I told you it was brown._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that a cliffhanger? ;3 Sorry...  
> Alphys' speech difficulties (specifically the repetition of sounds of the word endings) are based off of me and my bro's speech impediments when we were younger. When we got nervous we'd make a sentence and the very last few words would be repeated a bit. Example: "We went to the park toda-ay." My brother used to repeat the word or words at the end twice, like so: "She was leaving and left the doo-or open-en. door ope-e-en." I occasionally catch myself doing it in the middle-le of a sentence so that's something.  
> I'd like to know if you all want Alphys to have this broken speech in her speech impediment or if y'all would prefer just s-stutters.  
> On the topic of speech, do you guys find the ASL descriptions annoying? I must know!!! If I incorrectly described a sign, please tell me, I'm learning and it's a very interesting task.  
> I'll try to push out another update soon and I know we don't have our lovely Sans yet. Be patient my darlings, we shall soon see the biggest prick/prankster of them all. Comment on what you liked or didn't like! I shall respond to your comments and eat them to stave off writers block and migraines. Have a spectacular evening or morning!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look! A short chapter appears!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah dang it.  
> Well, there's no good excuse I can give for not updating. I guess I can put it as a lack of inspiration and neurological problems. Suffering from migraines often kinda squashes the creative spirit and makes it difficult to sort through work and find time for this. Sorry for the lack of content and I hope you all enjoy this short chapter.

It had been quite a few minutes since they had left you alone in the room. Your sense of victory and pride at being proven correct had only brought discomfort and weariness to the monsters. Sitting alone and listening to Asgore’s rumbling, powerful tones from just outside the door left you with a sense of anxiety. You couldn’t discern the words through the door, just hearing Undyne’s voice slip through the wooden barrier, Alphys’ higher pitch stammering out the unknown, and the King’s baritone felt in your chest.

You hadn’t seen any issue with your SOUL, and you promptly brought it back out for examination. The brown heart sat in the palm of your hand as you ghosted your hand over it. You suppressed a shudder as the odd feeling of something stroking up your sides left you slightly creeped out. You knew it was bigger than other SOULs, having healed them previously, but the color didn’t strike you as odd. People were different, you had just assumed brown was the same as any other and had its place in your SOUL.

You squinted a little, finding a hairline white scar running across the surface. Tracing it with your finger, you followed it to find many, many small scars on your SOUL. Your face and SOUL darkened a tad as you remembered why you had gotten those.

The door opened and Alphys scurried in with an annoyed Undyne following close behind. Asgore ducked in behind her, stroking his golden beard in thought. All eyes were drawn to your floating SOUL.

Dismissing your SOUL with a wave of energy, you brought the attention back to you and you raised your hands, promptly asking,  _ what now? _

Asgore sighed, sending a glance over to Undyne and her souring expression.

“We have decided that, as you are a mage--” there it was again. “-- and that you have a SOUL color we had not seen before and therefore unpredictable, you need to be watched.” You were taken aback a bit. How were you in the least bit dangerous? All you had ever done was protect a child and now you were being watched like an animal?

Asgore continued on, unaware of your internal musings. “As I am King, I cannot be observing you at all times, so I leave you in the care of my Royal Scientist and the Captain of the Royal Guard.” Undyne let out a snarl and stalked out of the room, slamming the door against the wall as she stomped away. Alphys jumped at the sound and nervously wrung her hands while keeping her eyes fixed to the ground, finding something immensely interesting about the carpet. Asgore had a strange expression, almost resembling shame at her reaction.

“Ahem,” he coughed, kingly stature slightly less so. “Well, disregarding that outburst, I have a little more to say. Mage, you will have your SOUL examined. We have no idea what you could potentially do and I am not letting another mage condemn my people.” His sudden harsh tone at the very end sent a shiver down your spine, his horns looking all the more intimidating when he was glowering down on you. You nodded, fixing your eyes to your fingers and avoiding all possible eye contact with the King.

“I must make some calls,” his rumbling voice easily vibrated through the silent air. “Excuse me, Alphys.” With that, you heard the huge monster move and the door gently click behind him, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

The little yellow scientist tapped her claws nervously together, clearing her throat for a moment. “A-ah. Um. Y- yes, you’ll, uh, be stayin-ing with Undyne a-and me.” She whispered, sending a wistful glance toward the door and tail wrapping and unwrapping around one of her stubby legs. “F-feel free to, uh, explore.” She looked at you and sweat dripped down her face. “Y-yeah. Um. I’ll uh. Look at your S-SOUL a-another time. You just, uh.” She swallowed nervously. “I’ll talk to Undyne a-and she w-won’t bother-er you. I’ll just… I’ll justbegoing. Don’tleavethehouseorgotomylabwithoutme. Don’tanswerthedoor. I’llbeseeingyou!” She mumbled quickly and sped to the door and escaping the room.

You sat alone, feeling very lost and out of place. Leaning back a bit, you tugged a curtain on the window to the side, cool cloth caressing your fingers as you blinked away the sun in your eyes. You were greeted with the sight of large lawn, the green grass happily waving under the afternoon sun. You couldn’t see much past the iron fence that you assumed surrounded the property, stretching past your field of vision.

You put the curtain back and stared straight ahead, letting your current situation dawn on you.

…

…

**Fuck.**

  
  


After several moments of internally freaking out, you rose from the bed, wincing at the pain in your side, and stood on shaky legs. Your bare feet met a beige rug and you couldn’t help but smile at the soft feeling.

You opened the door into a hallway and stepped out, eyes flicking around for any sign of the two female monsters. There was no sign of either of them, so you continued your exploration. Your eyes were drawn to the pictures on the walls of the home. All the pictures featured several unfamiliar monsters alongside Alphys and Undyne. King Asgore and another goat monster were rarely sharing the same photo, but the pictures that had both usually included an angry glare directed at Asgore. A calculator with arms could be seen swooning dramatically into and out of many pictures, usually only pictures with Alphys, and occasionally with a small, white ghost who looked very troubled.

A smile softened your face as your eyes fell onto Ambassador Frisk grinning in all the pictures they were in. Several photos had them hanging off of Undyne’s arm or being lifted by the fish monster in some other manner. They could be seen cooking with the calculator, Undyne, and a very tall skeleton with an apron on. The lanky skeleton shared many photos with Undyne, almost always in kooky outfits and being noogied in some fashion or posing dramatically. You snorted at the crop top with the words ‘JOG BOY’ written on them.

As your continued down the hall, you found many more pictures that lifted your heart in the unrestrained joy shining on the monsters’ faces. You could see the pride in Undyne’s eye in the picture of her with a group of police officers, chest puffed out and showing off her badge. The picture to the right of that one showed Undyne suplexing a distressed police man into a table of doughnuts. You huffed out a broken laugh as you continued.

More pictures of Alphys and Undyne’s achievements decorated the wall. In many pictures with Alphys, you could see her nervously grinning next to an award of sorts, all of them related to a field of science. In several of those pictures a second skeleton was also seen. The skeleton was leaning in every different picture on different objects. The scientific lab coat was often wrinkled in the pictures and the monster was usually lazily winking at the camera.

You glanced back to the other photos and could now spot a lounging skeleton in the background. Bags were etched in the skull under the eye sockets in every picture, always giving the impression of lack of sleep, despite the evidence in previous pictures. The skeleton lazing about on various pieces of furniture usually appeared in pictures with the other, taller, skeleton.

A sudden deep voice brought your attention away from the wall of pictures of what you presumed were friends and family. The words were muddled by distance, but you could discern that the deep tone paired with who you recognized as Undyne was coming from further in the house.

Taking Alphys’ earlier instructions to heart, you crept toward the voices, allowing your curiosity to push you along. The long hallways surprised you, apparently you were brought to the very back of the house. You gave a small huff of annoyance as that dawned on you. Really, how dangerous had they thought you to be?

The voices were getting clearer and clearer as you continued, finally stopping as soon as you could discern the words of an agitated fish monster.

“-- and I am not leaving Alphys alone with some random mage!” Ah. Seems your number one fan spreads the love.

“and coming to me was the next thought in your mind instead of booking a hotel?” the newcomer’s voice was a lazy drawl, low in tone and slow in return.

You hear a clink of glass on granite. “Uhg, no. Asgore wants me to keep a watch on this mage. He says he doesn’t want a mage, especially this strange one, on the loose,” Undyne growled out.

“ _ tibia  _ honest, you haven’t told me why this mage is strange. you just said it was an emergency.” You crept along the side of the wall as you neared the voices, seeing the start of kitchen linoleum from a ways away and sneaking to the archway to it.

“Got a weird SOUL color,” Undyne said, a tapping sound following her agitated words. “‘s brown.”

“brown?” the other voice parroted with rising interest in their voice. “sure it’s not red? you could have  _ mis-red _ it.”

“Shut up, Sans. It’s brown. I saw it, Asgore saw it, Alphys saw it.”

“that’s some  _ folly _ ,” Sans chuckled, earning them a growl from Undyne. “i’ll  _ russet _ . now, how is this supposed to involve this lazy bones?”

You chose this moment to peek around into the kitchen. Facing each other on opposite sides of the counter, stood Undyne and one of the skeletons from the pictures. Clad in a blue hoodie and black basketball shorts, the monster was slouched in their posture, but still standing quite a bit taller than you would have. Somehow the white shirt they wore made a belly, making you question how that was possible, seeing as white tibia and fibula were supporting what you assumed to be an entire human skeleton.

Undyne took a hand and placed it on her face with a loud  _ SMACK _ ! “Because you’re the freaking Judge, and you know fuck-all there is to know about SOULs!” She gave an exasperated huff, sliding her hand down her face and giving the skeleton a resigned expression. “Look, I just want to know if it’s safe for Alphys. You’d do the same if this mage was left with Papyrus.”

The mention of this ‘Papyrus’ seemed to strike a chord in Sans, nodding slowly in agreement. “alright, i’ll take a look.” The skull turned to the archway, white eyelights finding your face peeking around the corner.

“oh,” the skeleton seemed taken aback, smile twitching slightly in what you could feel as surprise. Undyne’s face snapped to the side, glaring immediately at you.

“Eavesdropping much?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope y'all liked this short chapter! I hope to be doing more frequently, but there has been so much going on lately for me.
> 
> Look! We have a Sans! I can't wait to see what y'all comment! Let me know your thoughts and I'll be sure to reply to them! See ya soon!


	6. An Explanation is in Order

I’ve put this off far too long.

Not the story, but the explanation for why there hasn’t been a new chapter, although there needs to be an update soon.

First off, I’d like to give my audience a huge thank-you. The support for this little fic has been overwhelming and I absolutely adore rereading comments to find inspiration and motivation to write up the next chapter. Your excitement for the next chapter is what drives me to create and it just makes my day. The idea that someone, somewhere, took time out of their day to read my ramblings and thoughts and leave a comment that they are interested in seeing this continue astounds and amazes me. I am often left speechless and a little anxious after going over comments that y’all leave me.

That being said, I have been busy. Not the regular busy in which one can get a little bit of writing in the spare time they have between a few tasks, but the busy in which I am losing sleep and taking a hammer to my delicately-balanced sleep schedule due to failing health, work piling up, and some mandatory “volunteering” that I am guilted into doing every year that takes up two days of each and every week.

These two days would not usually be able to prevent me from writing or drawing, as I can usually go home and either write up a few pages or use art as an outlet for many frustrations. However, as I am absolutely terrible when it comes to managing my health (I don’t eat enough, I don’t drink much water, and I suffer from migraines all too often) and when my state is plagued with cold weather, mountain cedar (which I am allergic to) and mold (which I am also allergic to), my immune system decides it should quit its job and allow a sinus infection.

Those days of “volunteering” (I call it being volun-told when one is either guilted into a situation or just told that someone has signed them up for a volunteer service without their knowledge nor consent) might be skipped, but I am left miserable and sick. In this situation, I could have fit in some chapters, right? If I didn’t have an enormous amount of work piled up.

I am the worst when it comes to time management. I often procrastinate, but manage to pull in the best of results under pressure, and I find myself in times of peace and I can write, but soon after, I am tossed into a maelstrom of work and stress. So when this maelstrom hits, I can usually depend on the two day engagement to beat me down.

Christmas season had many of those issues, but it really picked up this year with the whole team of issues deciding to make 2017 the  _ best year ever _ for me. Work kicked my ass, the voluntold engagement takes up all time for me to vent my anger and frustration into writing, and the sickness has made my life a living hell of medication assigned to take care of the sinus infection, prevent migraines, and make sure my weak-ass immune system doesn’t decide to take a nosedive.

With all these things written down, one might think I would have had time to write down a chapter and post it, as somehow I was able to write a page-long excuse as to why I haven’t made the next chapter, right?

Right?

...

Y’all know what writer’s block is, correct?

…

Yeah.

As you all now can see, there are many factors in why I haven’t updated. This list of reasons behind my lack of updates seems unfixable to tackle all at once, at least at a glance. However, there is hope.

I am not abandoning the story. Not by a long shot. I have some plans for this and it may take a while for the ball to get rolling, but I do want to make this fic happen and I can only hope there are some people who want to be there for the journey to the end.

I am taking steps to correct these issues. Primarily, my time management as it is by far my most self-destructive behavior to ever haunt me. I have taken up a type of journalling and planning to help me figure out a schedule and organize tasks so I don’t forget major deadlines and projects to get in. You may have heard of bullet journalling and so far it seems to be helping as my sleep schedule is getting fixed because I have a system of checking what assignments I can get to at what times.

In short, I am planning on continuing Guard Dog. I had lots of health, work, and personal issues interfering with the updates and time I needed to write. Writer’s block played a huge role in being the biggest bitch in the universe, but I have ways of cracking it. I will try to get out a new update soon and I wish you all the best. Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you soon with a new update in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TL;DR: I’ve been sick, work got in the way, and being voluntold into taking two days out of every week to serve has prevented me from updating. I’m taking steps to correct this with a bullet journal and I will be continuing the story, hopefully on a more regular basis.


	7. An End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how many promises I've broken

Do you ever find yourself looking at something made in years past? While you study that simple thing that you had been proud of creating or doing it from fun, a thought comes to mind. Could you improve that? Finish the edges? Polish the creation? Or even start a new form of it? Tear down the entire plan and only store the footnotes while a new beginning refers on what you liked?

I often feel this way looking at writing of years past, scribbled down and made in fun. I’ve felt this way many times when looking back at my art from years ago. I’ve become much better through this review and restart I usually do. Sometimes this sudden burst of change is brought by a colorful explosion of inspiration from talented artists. Sometimes it’s random, the familiarity of a pencil sparking my desire to doodle and create.

This is the first time I haven’t been able to write. Choppy sentences splattered on documents while plot lines developed months prior found themselves empty wells of thought. Words were repetitive and repulsive to me. Pain in the center of my palms and stabbing pressure in the soles of my feet were the only sensations to come to me following the death of one of my closest friends.

I haven’t drawn anything I’ve wanted to since my birthday.

I haven’t written anything born from happy thoughts since his death.

There were periods of sudden interest. I am an observer more often than not, lurking and reading other fics while I delay my own. I found some good fics to read while I couldn’t find the desire to enjoy the Texan spring and be a recluse in my house. Some made me want to write more and write with my friend at three in the morning. But soon after placing my fingers on the bumps identifying the ‘f’ and ‘j’ keys, a cold wash of sadness and anguish rushed through me, carrying away any desire I had to write and dousing the wealth of words building worlds in my head.

My brother was my saving grace. Just as I considered abandoning the silly idea of fanfiction entirely, he lent me The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. Urban fantasy always were able to break the fog in my mind, their suggestions of magic residing just behind the walls of skyscrapers and monuments being beacons of mystical energy always exciting me and drawing me into the stories. This was no different to the wonder I had felt reading Harry Potter as a child and blazing through the traditional fantasy in middle school atop Saphira’s back.

I’ve found inspiration and beautiful, flowing descriptions of all the things I can imagine. Words come onto paper as beautiful as I have seen them in a long time and as quick as they can snap off a tongue. And with this renewed desire to write, I turn to Guard Dog and…

...am disappointed with myself. I cannot find anymore words to pick up where I left off. The flow breaks in the drafts I’ve tried writing. New plots still come from the original idea, but my mind cannot return to where it was before the death of my dear friend. I would love to continue this where it is, but the stream of thought is gone, the river run dry and the path is lost.

My solution. As any great art is improved, revision must take place. Either one can start from where they left off or they can spin their tale with the same thread. I’d like to create Guard Dog differently. An entirely new story, but some things will remain.

I apologise to those of you who are disappointed with this resolution. Instead of a long-awaited chapter, you find yourself furrowing your brow at a long-winded excuse from a depressed writer. Maybe you expected this after so many of the Undertale writers abandoned the community following months of silence. I understand that. I really do. I wish I didn’t lose my friend. I wish I didn’t lose myself. If there were a genie here in front of me, there would be many things I’d ask, but likely never receive. The dead don’t come back. The colorful past is forever lost to be graying and faded.

To those of you who just want to see my writings, I pose two questions. Firstly, why? I don’t like it. I like doing things that make others happy and many people who I interact with like what I write, but I’ve never been able to see what I’ve done with pen and paper to be great. Secondly, can you ever forgive me for the long hiatus? I don’t forgive myself for it, but then again, I can’t forgive myself for many of the sins and mistakes I’ve made.

Unfortunately, following the posting of this author’s note, I will be cancelling this fiction and likely starting anew. It may not initially be the story I know it can be and I may put off restarting this fic for after I’ve gotten my feet wet again in writing, but I know I can bring it into fruition. Apologies for the long wait for this anticlimactic end. You may see me in comments on other fics, but rest assured, I will be working on fics in future.


End file.
